Automatic log feeding and sawing apparatus



Julie 9, 1959 Filed May 1, 1956 A. ROBERTS 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VENTOR ATTORNEY June 9, 1959 Filed May 1, 1956 A. ROBERTS AUTOMATIC LOG FEEDING AND SAWING APPARATUS 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 D as INVENTOR ATTORNEY June 9, 1959 A. ROBERTS 2,889,858

I AUTOMATIC LDG FEEDING AND SAWING APPARATUS Filed May 1, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet a INVENTOR ATTORNEY June 9, 1959 A. ROBERTS 3 AUTOMATIC LOG FEEDING AND SAWING APPARAT US Filed May 1, 1956 v 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 1 f. INVENTOR ATTORNEY ire tats AUTOMATIC LOG FEEDING AND SAWING APPARATUS This invention relates to a log-sawing device, and it particularly relates to a portable device which can be used in the woods.

It is one object of the present invention to provide a readily transportable log-sawing device which is compact in construction and easy to operate.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a readily transportable log-sawing device wherein the saw is adapted to operate with equal efliciency on wood of both small and large diameters.

Other objects of the present invention are to provide an improved log-sawing device, of the character described, that is easily and economically produced, which is sturdy in construction, and which is highly efiicient in operation.

With the above and related objects in view, this invention consists in the details of construction and combination of parts, as will be more fully understood from the following description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of an entire device forming an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2-a is a top plan view of the saw end of the device of Fig. 1.

Fig. 2b is a top plan view of the engine end of the device.

Fig. device.

Fig. 4 is an end view of the device.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged, detail view of the saw-frame operating mechanism, taken substantially along the line 5-5 of Fig. 3 as viewed in the direction indicated by the arrows.

Referring now in greater detail to the drawing wherein similar reference characters refer to similar parts, there is shown a frame 11 providing a support for the various parts of the machine. This frame is supported for movement on front and rear wheel assemblies, such as shown at 12 in Fig. 4.

The wheel assembly 12 comprises an axle 14 suspended from a support 16 which is, in turn, connected to the bottom of the frame 11 by struts 18. Double wheels 21 are provided at each end of the axle.

Mounted on the frame as by bearings 22, Fig. 3, is a master shaft 24 connected to the main motor 26 through a clutch 23 connecting it to a shaft 3i) having a pulley 31 on which is mounted a belt 32, the belt 32 being positioned on the pulley 31 on the shaft 30 and a pulley 33 on the motor shaft 34 from transmission 27 and motor 26, as best shown in Fig. 2-b.

The device can be moved around like a regular motor vehicle since its frame is actually similar to a duck chassis. The device is adapted to be moved by means of the drive transmission 27 operated by motor 26 through belt 32 and master shaft 24. A steering wheel 38 (Figs. 2a and 3) is provided on a steering column 40 and a seat 42 is provided on the frame in back of the steering wheel 38.

The transmission 36 is connected to the master shaft 3 is a side elevational view of the saw end of the 2,889,858 Patented June 9, 1959 24 by a drive belt 44 (26) passing over pulleys 47 and 37 on the transmission shaft 46 and on the shaft 30- respectively and through the clutch 28. A clutch 48 is adapted to connect the shaft 46 from the transmission 36 to a pulley or sprocket Sit, which is adapted to be used as a power take off where desired.

A gear shaft lever 52 and clutch lever 54 (Fig. 3) are provided for the transmission and motor clutch respectively. The drive shaft clutch lever for clutch 48 is provided at 56. A brake pedal for the vehicle is shown at 53. A roller 59 (Fig. 2b) is positioned above the shaft 46 between transmission 36 and clutch 48, and a roller 61 (Fig. 2a) is positioned on the opposite side of the transmission 36.

The transmission 36 is provided with a shaft 60 on which is positioned a pulley 62. A drive belt 64 connects pulley 62 to a pulley 65 on a Winch drive shaft 66 positioned in bearings 68. The shaft 66 is adapted to be connected to a shaft '70 by a clutch 72 and to a shaft 74 by a clutch 76. The shafts 7% and 74 are held in their respective bearings 7 8 and 86.

The clutch 72 is operated by a crank lever 82 through a cable 84 and a clutch lever 86. The clutch 76 is operated by a crank lever 38, cable and clutch pedal 92. The shaft 76 is also provided with a brake 94 operated by a cable 96 and a brake pedal 98. The shaft '74 is, in its turn, provided with a brake res operated by a cable 162 and a brake pedal 104.

The shafts 741 and 74 are provided at their respective ends with bevel gears 106 and 1% which respectively mesh with bevel gears 11% and 112, the gear 110 being positioned on a shaft 114 of a winch 116 and the gear 112 being positioned on a shaft 118 of a winch 121 These winches are positioned under a platform on the frame consisting of a plurality of slats 122 mounted on cross-bars 123. A roller 45 (Fig. 2b) is provided at the motor end of slats 122. Each winch is provided with a cable, as at 124 and 126 (Figs. 2a, 3 and 4). These cables pass beneath the slats to their respective pulleys 128 and 1311 which are positioned endwise of the frame. The pulleys 126 and 1311 are mounted for rotation on a shaft 132 mounted in bearings 134 on supports 136.

The cables 124 and 126 then pass upwards over respective pulleys 138 and 146 which are mounted for rotation on a shaft 142 which is positioned on top of a boom 144 formed by a pair of laterally inwardly-inclined beams 146. The beams 146 are supported by links 148 at the bottom ends thereof; these links being hingedly connected to the frame, as at 151). By means of these pivoted links, the boom can be folded over onto the frame, in horizontal position, to make the device more compact for movement. A hook 151, best shown in Fig. 3, hooks over shaft 132 to hold the beams in upright position.

The cables 124 and 126, after passing over the top pulleys 138 and 146, pass between the sides of a bracket 152 to which are connected a pair of idler pulleys 154 and 156. The cable 124 passes under idler 156 and over a pulley 158, the end of this cable being attached to a clevis 160 connected to idler 154. The cable 126 passes over idler 154 and terminates in a loop 162. The pulley 158 is mounted in a clevis 164 which has a cable 166 adapted to be attached to a tree-trunk. An idler roller 168 (Fig. 2a) is provided underneath the platform formed by the slats 122, this roller acting to maintain the tension on the cable 124.

The group of slats 122 is inclined upwardly and outwardly, as best shown in Fig. 4, and positioned thereon is a support platform 176 which extends in an upwardly defined lateral direction, as determined by the slats 122, from the center of the frame defined by the guide rails 171 (Fig. 2a). A support extension 172 (Fig.

4) is hinged to the outer edge of the platform 170 and can be folded over onto the platform 170 when not in use. At the center of the frame, between the guide rails 171, is provided a roller system to be hereafter described.

The main drive shaft 24, as it extends back from the motor 26, is provided with a pulley 173 (Fig. 2a) over which travels a drive belt 174. The belt 174 also travels over a pulley on a shaft 176 mounted in bearings 178. This shaft 176 is adapted to be connected to another shaft 180, mounted in bearings 182, by means of a clutch 184. This clutch 184 is actuated by a lever 186 which is, in turn, pivotally actuated, through a rod 188, by an L-shaped crank arm 190 which is pivoted to the frame at 192 and connected at its upper end, by means of a pin-and-slot connection 193 to a control rod 194. A spring 196 acts to bias the rod 194 to the right, as viewed in Fig. 2-a. A locking cam 198 is provided on the rod 194 intermediate its ends, a bumper on stop 208 is provided at the free end of the rod.

The shaft 180 is provided with a bevel gear 202 which meshes with another bevel gear 204 positioned on a lateral shaft 206. A grooved feed roller 208 is positioned at one end of the shaft 206 between bearing blocks 210 and 212, while at the opposite end of the shaft, at the other end of a bearing support 214, is provided a gear 216 (Fig. 4). The gear 216 meshes with a gear 218 on a shaft 220, at the opposite end of which is provided a universal joint 222. A rod 224 having telescopic sections 223 and 225 is connected, at one end, to the joint 222 and, at its other end, is connected, also by a universal joint 226, to a spindle 227 extending through a bearing 228 mounted on a support 230 slidably adjustable on a standard 232. A support or brace 233 (Fig. 3) is provided for standard 232. A top feed roller 234 is mounted on the spindle 227 in vertical alignment with the lower feed roller 208.

A pulley 236 (Fig. 4) is provided on the shaft 206, intermediate its ends, and a drive belt 238 connects this pulley to a pulley 240 on a rod 242. The rod 242 is adapted to be connected to a rod 244 by means of a clutch 246 actuated by a lever 248 connected to a crank arm 250 which is mounted at one end of a shaft 252. The shaft 252 has rockably mounted thereon a pair of arms 254 (Fig. 2a) between which is supported a control roller 256. A spring 258 connects the crank arm 250 to the frame and acts to :bias the crank into a position to raise the roller 256. The rod 244 is connected to a disc 257. A rod 259 is eccentrically connected to disc 257 as at 255 and acts as a connecting rod or pitman. The other end of rod 259 is connected at 263 to the slide which carries the bearing support 230 for the upper roller 234.

The clutch 246 is, of course, of the half-revolution type whereby each time the lever 248 engages the clutch it rotates half a revolution and holds. The lever 248 is itself tripped in one direction or the other to engage the clutch and rotate it in the corresponding direction by the rocking movement of the arms 254 which are caused to rock in one direction by the downward movement of the roller 256 under the weight of the log and in the other direction by the upward movement of the roller 256 under the biasing action of the spring 258 when the log leaves the rollers 256. In this manner, the slide, and therefore the roller 234, is moved down when a log presses down on the control roller 256 and up when the log moves off the control roller.

Spaced from the roller 208, longitudinally of the frame, is a roller 260 (Figs. 2a and 3) mounted on a rod 261 between bearings 262 on the frame guideways 264 and 266 for a chain conveyor 268. This chain conveyor is driven by a shaft 270 which is operatively connected to main shaft 24 through bevel gears 272 and 274, shaft 276 and belt 278. The space between the rollers 208 and 260 is provided to accommodate the rotary saw blade 280 as it cuts through a log positioned on the rollers.

4 The saw blade 280 is mounted on a mandrel 282 which is positioned in a frame 284. The frame 284 is rockably mounted on shaft 24 by means of bearings 285 which permit relative rotation of the shaft 24. A drive belt 286 passes around a pulley 288 (Fig. 4) on mandrel 282 and also passes around a pulley 290 on the main shaft 24.

A rod 292 (Figs. 1, 2a and 5) has one end 294 adapted to lockingly coact with the locking cam 198. The opposite end of the rod 292 is provided with an extension 296 and, at the end of this extension, is a saw-frame lock comprising a hook 298 which is adapted to engage around saw frame 284. A spring 300 biases the hook 298 into gripping position around the saw frame.

At the area of the lower ends of the two legs of the saw frame are provided a pair of hooks 302 and 304, the hook 302 having a single hook portion 302a and the hook 304 having two oppositely disposed hook portions 304a and 3041;. These hooks are respectively connected to laterally extending levers 306 and 308. The lever 306 is, in turn, connected to an eccentrically mounted pin 310a carried by a disc 310 which is, itself, connected to a shaft 312. The shaft 312 is adapted to be connected to a shaft 314 by means of a clutch 316. The clutch 316 is operated by means of a crank lever 318 connected to the lever 308. A drive belt 320 connects a pulley on shaft 314 to a pulley on the main shaft 24.

The saw frame 284 is biased by its own weight toward the position where the saw makes a cut in the space between rollers 208 and 260. However, it is retained in inoperative position away from this space by book 298.

In operation, the device is driven into the woods where trees are to be cut. The device is then set in position and the pulley 158 is pulled out about 500 feet or more and the cable 166 is anchored to a tree in the woods. The pulley 156 rolls on top of the cable 124, to and from the woods, to decrease the slack in the winch cables. The cable 126 operates through pulley 154, to which loop 162 is connected.

After the pulley 158 is in position, the operator stops winch drum 72 but permits drum to remain in gear. This plays out the cable 126 so that the men in the woods have sufiicient play in the cable 126 to enable them to manipulate it while they attach the loop 162 to a log. At this time, the idler 168, underneath the platform, acts to maintain cable 124 in taut condition.

After the loop is attached to the log, the winch drum 120 is operated to haul the log onto the platform 170. As the log moves onto the platform, it bears on roller 45 which aids its movement longitudinally of the platform as it moves toward the saw end of the device.

A man stands on the platform and releases the log from the loop. The log then rolls laterally down the inclined platform onto the feed rollers between the guide rails at the center of the frame. The saw frame is locked in its inoperative position at this time and the lower feed roller 208 is in motion, while the top feed roller 234 is in raised position to permit passage of the log into position.

When the log rolls down onto the feed roller 208, it also rolls onto the control roller 256, thereby depressing it. This acts to rock rod 252 which acts through link 250 to operate the clutch lever 248, which, thereupon releases clutch 246. This permits roller 234 to drop down onto the log. The log is then pulled along by the top and bottom feed rollers until the front end of the log contacts bumper 200. As the bumper is pressed back, the rod 194, connected thereto, pivots lever 190. This moves rod 188 to actuate lever 186 which releases clutch 184. This disengages the upper and lower feed rollers from the driving mechanism. At the same time, the cam 198 moves out of the path of the finger 294 on rod 292. This permits spring 300 to pull the hook 298 away from the saw-frame 284, thereby permitting the rotating saw 280 to swing down by gravity and make a cut through the log in the area between the rollers 208 and 260. The cut-off piece of wood then falls onto the conveyor 268 which carries it away to an unloading station.

As the saw frame swings down, it contacts one hook portion 304a of the hook 304. This operates lever 308 which actuates clutch lever 318 to engage clutch 316. This rotates disc 310 and its associated eccentric 310a to move lever 306 to pull hook 302 against the saw frame. The hook portion 302a then lifts the saw-frame back to its inoperative position. As it does so, the frame hits the opposite hook portion 30412 of the hook 304 which then acts through lever 308 to release the clutch 316 and stop the rotation of disc 310.

At this time, the top of the saw-frame contacts hook 298 which pulls rod 296 back and releases rod 194. This permits spring 196 to pull rod 194 back to normal position wherein it holds the pivotal lever 190 in position to maintain the saw in its inoperative position. At this time, the hook 298 has slipped around the saw-frame and is maintained in position to hold the saw in inoperative position.

The operator of the device sits on seat .2 and both drives the device as a vehicle and operates it as a logsawing means. By throwing transmission 36 into neutral, and engaging clutch 48 and disengaging clutch 28, the device can be driven as a vehicle by means of a belt or chain drive on pulley or sprocket 50 running to a pulley or sprocket on the wheel drive shaft.

By operating the saw by gravity feed, the cutting time will not be slowed down on small logs, nor will the saw choke on large logs, as is often the case when using power-operated swing saws.

Although this invention has been described in considerable detail, such description is intended as being illustrative rather than limiting, since the invention may be variously embodied, and the scope of the invention is to be determined as claimed.

Having thus set forth and disclosed the nature of this invention, what is claimed is:

1. In a log-sawing device, a frame, a motor on said frame, a drive shaft connected to said motor, a rotary saw pivotally mounted on said frame and drivingly connected to said drive shaft, a feed roller assembly adjacent said saw, said feed roller assembly comprising a downwardly inclined platform, a lower feed roller and an upper, vertically movable, feed roller, said feed rollers being laterally positioned relative to the lower end of said inclined platform and being arranged to be commonly driven by said drive shaft, and a weight-actuated control roller adjacent the lower end of said platform and said lower feed roller, said control roller being actuatable by by the weight of a log descending thereon from said platform and being operatively connected to a crank means, said crank means being constructed and arranged to move said upper roller into a lower, operative position when a weight rests on said control roller, and to move said upper roller into an upper, inoperative position when said weight is removed from said control roller.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein said lower feed roller is drivingly connected to said drive shaft and is provided with a driven shaft operatively connected to a second shaft, said second shaft being connected to the shaft of said upper feed roller by means of a connecting shaft, said connecting shaft being connected to both said second shaft and to the shaft of said upper feed roller by means of universal joints.

3. A self-propelled log-sawing device comprising a frame mounted on wheels, a motor on said frame, a master shaft operatively connected to said motor, means operatively connecting said master shaft to said wheels, a log-sawing mechanism operatively connected to said master shaft, said mechanism including feed means, a sawing means and a conveyor means for removing cut log sections, all said means comprising said log-sawing mechanism being synchronously operated by said master shaft and being aligned with each other to move a log in a unitary path from said feed means to the end of said conveyor means, said feed means including feed rollers constructed and arranged to clampingly engage a log, move it along said unitary path and then release it in synchronism with said sawing means, and a feed platform laterally arranged relative to said feed rollers and inclined downwardly with its lower end adjacent said feed rollers, said sawing means comprising a rotary saw biased towards cutting position transversely of said unitary path, retaining means for retaining said saw in inoperative position, means actuatable by a log moving along said unitary path to first release said retaining means to permit said saw to fall by gravity to make a cut and then return said saw to its original inoperative position where it is again held by said retaining means, and said conveyor means being operative to clear said mechanism for the succeeding sawing operation upon the return of said saw to its inoperative position.

4. The structure of claim 3 wherein said saw is mounted on a pivoted frame, and said means for retaining said saw in inoperative position comprises a lineally movable hook member, having a pivoted retaining hook thereon, and wherein said means for returning said saw means includes said lineally movable hook member, a clutch member actuable by the downward swinging of the saw frame as said saw falls by gravity, and means actuable by said clutch member to move said lineally movable hook against the same frame to raise the same and hence said saw, to inoperative position.

5. The device of claim 3 wherein said feed rollers comprise a lower and upper feed roller, said upper feed roller being vertically movable into and out of a position wherein it is adapted to drivingly engage a log positioned on said lower feed roller, and control means normally holding said upper feed roller in inoperative position but actuatable by the weight of the log to release said upper feed roller into driving engagement with the log, said control means being constructed and arranged to return said upper feed roller to its inoperative position, out of engagement with the log, upon removal of the Weight of the log from said control means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 717,738 Dittbenner Jan. 6, 1903 764,717 Foshee July 12, 1904 825,518 Cox July 10, 1906 1,001,272 Howard Aug. 22, 1911 1,395,673 Frink Nov. 1, 1921 1,559,692 Gorbutt Nov. 3, 1925 2,310,152 Ronning Feb. 2, 1943 2,572,347 Johnson Oct. 23, 1951 2,594,548 Flick Apr. 29, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 82,216 Sweden Dec. 18, 1934 

